UK Data Archive (Essex University, Colchester, UK) Data Update: The UK Data Archive has recently added the following datasets to its holdings. Note: There may be charges or licensing requirements on holdings of the UK Data Archive. For more information see:

A. “Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grants (T32)” (PA-10-036, reissue of PA-08-226, Nov. 27, 2009, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, in conjuntion with several other agencies). For more information see:

B. “Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants (T35)” (PA-10-037, reissue of PA-08-227, Nov. 27, 2009, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, in conjuntion with several other agencies). For more information see:

National Bureau of Econmic Research Working Papers: National Bureau of Economic Research Working Papers: NBER has released the following working papers for the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 7, 2009. Note: check your library for electronic availability.

Center for Global Economic History (Utrecht University) Call for Papers: “The Centre for Global Economic History of Utrecht University would like to invite the submission of paper abstracts for an international conference on the theme of marriage patterns household formation and economic development. Focusing both on geographical scope and historical time span, we plan to run a three-day workshop, building on the GEHN tradition, running from the 7th until the 10th of October 2010.” For more information, see the posting at the H-Demog mailing list at:

B. “Farm Income Data” (data updated November 2009, HTML and Microsoft Excel format). “Estimates of farm sector income with component accounts: for the United States, 1910-2009; and for States, 1949-2008. Data are released three times a year.”

B. ” FRBSL’s FRASER (Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research) site has recently added “Documents of the National Monetary Commission” to its collection. “Thirty reports (1909-1912) that provided a detailed and authoritative survey of North American and European banking systems of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The National Monetary Commission’s reports became the basis for, and would go on to recommend, the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.” Note: all reports are .pdf format, and all reports are very large. It may be to interested users’ advantage to download the reports rather than to try to read them inside the browser.

University of Wisconsin Center for Demography and Ecology Working Paper: “Sample Selection Bias in the Pathways to Adult Health Inequalities,” by Robert G. White and Alberto Palloni (CDE Working Paper No. 2009-11, May 2009, .pdf format, 32p.).

Abstract:

Sample selection bias is a chronic problem in longitudinal studies that is particularly problematic for studies concerning the relationship between health and socio-economic status. This paper adopts two alternate methods for handling sample selection bias attributable to survey attrition and item non-response. Both methods are applied to examine the magnitude of bias in the effects of childhood cognition and behavior on the adult socio-economic gradient in health. A method for sample selection correction with multiple imputation for item non-response is implemented to account for different sources of sample selection bias over time. Estimates of a life course model of health and socioeconomic attainment demonstrate that sample selection bias inflates estimates of socioeconomic gradients. The proposed correction for sample selection bias also suggests that the effects of early child non-cognitive skills rather than cognitive skills may play an important role in the early life origins of adult socioeconomic gradients.

WP-2009-13 “Paying for Performance: The Education Impacts of a Community College Scholarship Program for Low-income Adults,” by Lisa Barrow, Thomas Brock, Lashawn Richburg-Hayes, and Cecilia Elena Rouse.

November 25, 2009

Panel Study Of Income Dynamics Bibliography Update: The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research PSID has recently added the following item to its bibliography. The entire bibliography can be searched or browsed in various ways at:

Do, D. Phuong. The Dynamics of Income and Neighborhood Context for Population Health: Do Long-Term Measures of Socioeconomic Status Explain More than the Black/White Health Disparity than Single-Point-in-Time Measures. Social Science & Medicine. 2009; 68(8):1368-1375.

Elliott, III, William. Children’s College Aspirations and Expectations: The Potential Role of Children’s Development Accounts (CDAs). Children and Youth Services Review. 2009; 31(2):274-283.

Forshee, Richard A.; Anderson, Patricia A., and Storey, Maureen L. Associations of Various Family Characteristics and Time Use With Children’s Body Mass Index. Journal of Community Health Nursing. 2009; 26(2):77-86.

A. “The impact of the individual, the household and the community on fertility behavior in Petén, Guatemala,” by Kathryn Grace and David Carr (WP-2009-037, November 2009, .pdf format, 27p.). Links to an abstract and full text are available at:

C. “Demographic change and the acceptance of population-related policies. A comparison of 13 European countries,” by Harald Wilkowzewski and Elena Muth (WP-2009-035, November 2009, .pdf format, 50p.). Links to an abstract and full text are available at:

D. “Age trajectories of social policy preferences. Support for intergenerational transfers from a demographic perspective,” by Harald Wilkowzewski (WP-2009-034, November 2009, .pdf format, 44p.). Links to an abstract and full text are available at:

Previous research suggests that many men increase their religious involvement after the birth of a new child. This study extends this research by examining whether fathers maintain a higher rate of religious participation as children get older and how fathers’ religiosity may influence children’s behavior. Results suggest that many fathers maintain a higher level of religious participation during the early years of their child’s life. Although fathers’ religious involvement does not appear to directly influence children’s behavior, there is evidence that fathers’ religiosity moderates the influence of other family characteristics on children. Parental relationship quality and mothers’ religiosity are associated with fewer problem behaviors among children when fathers believe that religion is important to family life. Results also suggest that being raised by a non-religious father is associated with increased externalizing problem behavior among young children. Overall, this study suggests that religious communities may be a source of support that encourages fathers to be more active in their family life and promote positive development among children.

B. “Religious Heterogamy and Relationship Stability: A Comparison of Married and Cohabiting Unions,” by Richard Petts (WP09-23-FF, November 2009, .pdf format, 29p.).

Abstract:

Many studies have explored dynamics within religiously heterogamous marriages, but little is known about religiously heterogamous cohabiting unions. Using data from the Fragile Families Study, this study examines the influence of religious heterogamy on union stability among married and cohabiting couples. Results suggest that religious heterogamy is more common in cohabiting unions than marriages. Results also suggest that cohabiting unions are more likely to dissolve than marriages, and the risk of separation is higher for religiously heterogamous cohabiting unions (especially those in which one partner is religious and the other is not) than religiously heterogamous marriages. Finally, there is evidence showing that some religiously heterogamous cohabiting couples have a higher risk of relationship dissolution than religious heterogamous married couples due to lower relationship quality. Overall, this study extends the religion and family literature by showing that religious differences may lead to greater instability for cohabiting relationships than marriages.

Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) [University of Essex, Colchester, UK] Working Paper: “Accounting for housing in poverty analysis,” by Holly Sutherland, Killian Mullan, and Francesca Zantomio (ISER Working Paper 2009-33, November 2009, .pdf format, 24p.). Links to the abstract and full-text can be found at:

US House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, And Forestry Hearing Publication: “Hearing to Review the State of Obesity in the United States,” a hearing held March 26, 2009 (51-897, .pdf and ASCII text format, 67p.).

Levy Economics Institute of Bard College [Annandale-on-Hudson, NY] Working Paper: “The Euro and Its Guardian of Stability: The Fiction and Reality of the 10th Anniversary Blast,” by Jorg Bibow (Working Paper No. 583, November 2009, .pdf format, 43p.). Links to the abstract and full-text can be found at:

A. The latest issue of MMWR, Vol. 58, No. 46, Nov. 27, 2009 (HTML and .pdf format) is available from the US Centers for Disease Control site). Note: To access this issue in the future, simply click on “Weekly Report” and then “Current Volume” or “Past Volumes” on the left side of the page.

US National Center for Education Statistics Statistics in Brief: “Students’ Use of Tutoring Services, by Adequate Yearly Progress Status of School,” by Siri Warkentien and Sarah Grady (NCES 2010023, November 2009, .pdf format, 19p.).

Demographic Research Article: “Couples’ decisions on having a first child Comparing pathways to early and late parenthood,” by Arieke Rijken and Trudie Knijn (Vol. 21, Article 26, November 2009, .pdf format, p. 765-802). Links to an abstract and full text are available at: